The Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE) and the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) have instituted a lawsuit against President Muhammadu Buhari and the National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) over the arbitrary use of the NBC Act and broadcasting code to threaten, revoke and shut down 53 broadcast stations in the country for failing to renew their licenses. Joined in the suit as Defendant is the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed. The NBC had last week revoked the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations and threatened to shut down their operations within 24 hours over alleged N2.6 billion debts. The regulatory body of broadcast stations in a statement last week asked the stations “to pay all outstanding license fees on or before August 23, 2022 or shut down by 12am on August 24.” In the suit number FHC/L/CS/1582/2022 filed on Tuesday at the Federal High Court, Lagos, NGE and SERAP asked the court to determine whether section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the National Broadcasting Act used by NBC to threaten, revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shut them down is not inconsistent and incompatible with freedom of expression and access to information as contained in the 1999 constitution as amended. In a statement by the General Secretary of the NGE, Iyobosa Uwugiaren and the Deputy Director, SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare, the two groups aked the court for a declaration that section 10(a) of the Third Schedule to the National Broadcasting Act used by the NBC to threaten to revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and to shut down the broadcast stations is unconstitutional and unlawful, as it violates the freedom of expression.” The NGE and SERAP are also seeking an order of interim injunction restraining them, their agents or privies from revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations in the country and shutting their down operations, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice filed contemporaneously in this suit. In the suit, the two groups argued that, “the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties on freedom of expression indicate that this right can be exercised through any medium.” NGE and SERAP also averred, “Effectively, these provisions recognize that every individual has the right to an equal opportunity to receive, seek and impart information through any communication medium without discrimination.” ‘’The use of NBC Act and the NBC Code in this case would inadmissibly open the door to arbitrariness and would fundamentally restrict the freedom of expression that is an integral part of the public order protected the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party.’’ The suit filed on behalf of NGE and SERAP by their lawyer Kolawole Oluwadare, read in part: “The media plays an essential role as a vehicle or instrument for the exercise of freedom of expression and information – in its individual and collective aspects – in a democratic society.” “Indeed, the media has the task of distributing all variety of information and opinion on matters of general interest. “The public has a right to receive and assess this information and opinion independently. Therefore, the existence of a free, independent, vigorous, pluralistic, and diverse media is essential for the proper functioning of a democratic society.” According to the groups, the Declaration of Principles on Freedom of Expression in Africa adopted by the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, licensing processes shall seek to promote diversity in broadcasting and that any registration system for the media shall not impose substantive restrictions on the right to freedom of expression. “Revoking the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and shutting down their operations because they have not renewed their licenses would both seriously undermine the rights of millions of Nigerians to express their thoughts, and their right to seek, receive, and impart information and ideas of all kinds, in any medium they choose. “Freedom of expression includes the public’s right to receive, and the right of those who express themselves through a medium of communication, to impart the greatest possible diversity of information and ideas’’, the groups explained. The lawsuit averred further that the right to freedom of expression is based on the right to establish or use a media outlet to exercise freedom of expression and on society’s right to have access to a free, independent, and pluralistic media that allows for the most and most diverse information. NGE and SERAP therefore asked the court for the following reliefs: A declaration that the arbitrary and unilateral action by NBC to threaten and or revoke the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations and to shut down their operations because of the alleged failure to pay their license fees is unnecessary and disproportionate sanction, and therefore contrary to the public interest and the guiding principles of freedom of expression. That section 10(a) of the National Broadcasting Act used by NBC to unilaterally revoke the licenses of the broadcast stations and shutdown the stations is a violation of the constitutionally and internationally guaranteed right to fair hearing. That section 10(a) of the National Broadcasting Act or any such other laws enabling NBC to unilaterally revoke the licenses of 53 broadcast stations and to shut down the stations is inconsistent and incompatible with the provisions of the Nigerian Constitution 1999 (as amended), and therefore null and void to the extent of its inconsistency and incompatibility. That the arbitrary action by NBC to revoke the licenses and shut down the operations of the broadcast stations is directly in conflict with sections 6 and 39(1) of the Nigerian Constitution and human rights treaties to which Nigeria is a state party, and therefore null and void and ultra vires. An order nullifying and setting aside the directive by NBC to revoke the licenses of the 53 broadcast stations for being inconsistent and incompatible with freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom. An order compelling the President to direct NBC and the Minister to withdraw the

  The Presidency on Tuesday faulted one of the nation’s national daily for calling for the impeachment of President Muhammadu Buhari in its editorial. The Presidency in a statement issued by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, alleged that the daily had “taken up the role of regular antagonist and political opponent of the President and his party, APC for a long time now, has surpassed itself with its latest call for the impeachment of the President. “The newspaper editors clearly do not like the way the President is running the country and therefore they believe he should be impeached. They debase both the political discourse of our nation and public understanding of the law and constitution by doing so. “Impeachment is a process undertaken after high crimes and misdemeanours have been proven. It’s a not a process undertaken against a leader whose politics you do not agree with, or who you personally dislike. “It appears, impeachment has become a newly added partisan weapon in their arsenal – wielded by those who have established a track record of hatred towards the President and an attempt to remove from office one who was democratically elected by the people. “In a recent editorial published in the Washington Times, the American political leader and commentator Saul Anuzis stated: “There are exceptional circumstances when presidents and other office holders deserved to be impeached… slam-dunk cases of malfeasance in the highest office.” Referencing attempts to call an impeachment vote in the Nigerian Senate a “headline-grabbing stunt,” Anuzis observed “It is no coincidence this occurs just months before Nigeria’s next presidential election.” “The fact is, it should be for presidents to govern and for opposition politicians and the media to hold them to account. The circumstances of his election in 2015 – the first time a sitting president had been defeated in a re-election attempt and the first time any party save the PDP had won the presidency – was a vast shock to Nigeria’s political and sections of the media establishments. As far as they were concerned, it was not how things were meant to be. “So, from day one, they set about attacking this president more than any other in Nigeria’s history. The fact they could not defeat him at the ballot box when he was re-elected in 2019 – and now with his APC party very likely to retain the presidency despite all their best efforts – they now turn to all and any means, no matter the political, legal, or constitutional consequences to bring him down.” He pointed out that the newspapers in question had in the past been worshipped as the flagship of the nation’s press; the one that had won every “Newspaper of the Year” awards. “Now, they have sadly fallen from the height it once occupied as a medium that sparked intellectual thought and discourse for a fiddler of poorly scripted invective and ad hominem,” he alleged. While conceding that the newspapers may never be friend or ally of the President, he noted that they should know better than to support the “headline-grabbing stunt.”

  A civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, (HURIWA) has called on President Muhammadu Buhari, not to allow plot to sell a Commercial Bank (Polaris Bank) has reported in a section of the media. Reports have emerged that the CBN has allegedly proceeded with the secret sale of the bank, a development Polaris has denied. The group, in a statement signed by its national coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said if the Commercial Bank is sold it will not only compound the harsh economy Nigerians were going through but negatively affect the electoral fortune of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2023 general elections. While calling on the President to avoid negative effect of such move against the APC, HURIWA said: “President Buhari should stop the illegal sale of the bank immediately. The CBN governor has apparently been misinforming the President to approve ridiculous sales just as he wrongly advised the President to approve the sale Exoon Mobil to Seplat and the attendant bank and forth. “Recall that Emefiele was also allegedly fingered in the ridiculous sale of 104-year-old Union Bank by two-year-old Titan Trust Bank. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission should have probed the CBN governor over this allegation which is contrary to Sections 9 and 11 of the CBN ACT 2007 but as usual, the former presidential aspirant of the All Progressives Congress, is an untouchable cabinet member of President Muhammadu Buhari. “The CBN should be stopped from allegedly selling off banks in the country to cronies and friends as end-of-tenure benefits.” The statement also called on the apex bank to issue a statement statement on the position of the bank on the matter in order to douse tension among the customers and stakeholders of the Bank. According to HURIWA, “It is concerning that the so-called sale lacks transparency and is shrouded in so much darkness as no due diligence was not carried out, no tender, no advertisement to create public awareness, nothing, just some kangaroo and arrangee sale. “To be exact, selling a bank which over N1.2 trillion was used to rescue at an alleged N40 billion is highly ridiculous and scandalous.”

  Nigerian governors are of the opinion that elections may not hold in several north-west states as a result of the prevalent insecurity in the geopolitical zone. North-west comprises seven states — Jigawa, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Kebbi, Sokoto, and Zamfara. TheCable understands that the governors shared their perspective with President Muhammadu Buhari in a policy brief. The brief was part of the political economy situation review sent to the president in July 2022.   The governors asked the president to expedite actions on various promises to address insecurity, according to a copy of the review seen by TheCable. INSECURITY IN NORTH-WEST To stem the tide of insecurity, the governors urged the president to take urgent steps to establish military bases in Birnin Gwari, Rijana, Kachia and Mararraban Jos in Kaduna state and Kontagora and Gwada in Niger state.   “Expedite promised the establishment of military bases in Birnin Gwari, Rijana, Kachia and Mararraban Jos in Kaduna State, and Kontagora and Gwada in Niger State,” the review reads. “Ensure promised simultaneous operations scheduled for July 1 but yet to commence are ordered and complied with IMMEDIATELY. “Ensure operations prevent Boko Haram terrorists from attacking the Shiroro R2 transmission line (R1 already down and inaccessible), which will throw the entire north-west and Niger into darkness. “Renewed appeal for a Theatre Command in the north-west along with deployment of MNJTF due to borders with Niger and Benin Republics that are major sources of arms and ammunition.”   IMPLICATION OF TINUBU’S RUNNING MATE The governors asked Buhari to look into the choice of running mate picked by Bola Tinubu, the APC presidential candidate, and its impact on north-west voter turn-out and commitment to the party. They also called for an assessment of the outcome of the primaries conducted by the ruling party as well as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party (LP) and New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Last month, Tinubu unveiled Kashim Shettima, former governor of Borno, as his substantive running mate in next year’s election. While many APC leaders commended the choice of Shettima, other stakeholders, including some Christian leaders, expressed displeasure at the Muslim-Muslim ticket.

  The Anambra State Government has extended the ban on commercial motorcycle operators to Nnewi and Ekwulobia. The Commissioner for Information, Paul Nwosu, stated this in a statement signed by himself on Tuesday. Before this development, commercial motorcyclists were banned only in the commercial city of Onitsha and Awka, the state capital. But in Nwosu’s statement, he added Ekwulobia and Nnewi as areas where Okada operators were prohibited from plying. He attributed the development on increasing trend of crime and criminality in the state, adding that the development was one of the resolutions reached at the state executive council meeting. THE STATEMENT READS: 1. It has come to the notice of government that commercial motorcycle riders, popularly known as “Okada” have gradually found their ways back on our roads in Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Ekwulobia. Their recklessness owing to lack of riding training and ignorance of traffic signs are beginning to produce high rate of avoidable accidents on our roads. Added to this is the fact that “Okada” has been fingered severally by law enforcement agents as being the major conveyor belt through which criminals ply their nefarious businesses. In the light of these ugly trends, government hereby restates and reiterates that the ban on commercial motorcycles in our major cities such as Awka, Onitsha, Nnewi and Ekwulobia is still in force. Anyone caught violating them will be made to face the full wrath of the law. For an area like Nnewi where private motorcycles are means of commuting to places of work and business, the rider must wear a crash helmet to protect the head in case of accident. Companies involved in courier services, dispatch services and home deliveries must register with the Ministry of Transport and have their riders properly kitted up. “Okada” may ply the sub urban and rural areas where motor transport is scarce, but plan is underway to have them enumerated and branded in order to determine the genuine commercial motorcyclists and be able to track any operator who is involved in breaching the law. 2. ANSEC took exception to the increasing wave of domestic violence against spouses of both genders as it has been discovered that male spouses have also become victims of domestic violence. Domestic brutality or savagery in whatever form will no longer be tolerated in Anambra State. Anybody that is implicated in a case of domestic violence henceforth would be arrested and tried before a court of competent jurisdiction and punished accordingly. Spouses should learn to live in peace and harmony so that their lives would be worthy of emulation by their children and neighbours. Sign SIR PAUL NWOSU Commissioner for Information.